For many, Christmas celebrations follow the four main themes of Advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. Subscribe to have The Washington Times’ Higher Ground delivered to your inbox every Sunday.

The church calendar is not amiss on this important occasion. "Each week of Advent focuses on a different theme — hope, peace, joy, and love.

The themes typically include hope, peace, joy and love. The use of distinctive candle colors, such as purple for penance and royalty and pink or rose for rejoicing, adds symbolic depth to the ...

December is the month of amazing celebration. Usually the four Sundays in December are Advent Sundays, with a focus each Sunday on an attribute of the season: Hope/Faith, Peace, Love, Joy.